Citation NR: 9700019
Decision Date: 01/02/97 Archive Date: 02/03/97
DOCKET NO. 93-00 013 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St.
Petersburg, Florida
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to reimbursement for automotive adaptive
equipment.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Paralyzed Veterans of America,
Inc.
WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL
Appellant and Spouse
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Julia M. Beach, Associate Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active service from September 1940 to October
1945.
This matter came before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
(Board) from the St. Petersburg, Florida, Regional Office
(RO). The veteran testified at a hearing in July 1992. He
is represented in his appeal by Paralyzed Veterans of
America.
REMAND
The Board notes that documents germane to the appeal may be
contained in an administrative file, as the Board is unable
to locate the veteran’s application for reimbursement of
automobile adaptive equipment, the denial of reimbursement,
the veteran’s notice of disagreement, and other documents
pertaining to partial payment of automobile adaptive
equipment. The Board is also unable to determine from where
the denial originated. Further, the claims file contains
various statements and supplemental statements of the case,
some undated, and some incomplete. As the Board does not
have access to all of the documents, the Board cannot make
any comment as to the representative’s allegations of
inadequacy with respect to the appeal.
In light of the foregoing, this case is REMANDED to the RO
for the following action:
1. The appropriate authority should
review the claims file so that the
veteran and the Board knows what the
actual claim is. The appropriate
authority should ensure that the claims
file contains all documents pertinent to
the appeal, including the veteran's
application for reimbursement, the
denial, the veteran’s notice of
disagreement, any statements and
supplemental statements of the case, the
veteran’s original 1-9, and a complete
hearing transcript. At this point,
merely to recertify the case by attaching
another file might be premature.
2. It is respectfully requested that a
supplemental statement of the case
addressing the concerns of the veteran
then be forwarded to the veteran so that
he can prepare an adequate substantive
appeal. As his representative implied,
his substantive appeal is inadequate at
this time as the statement of the case is
inadequate.
Thereafter, subject to current appellate procedures, the case
should be returned to the Board.
The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate disposition
warranted in this case, pending completion of the requested
development. The purposes of this REMAND are to procure
additional information and accord due process.
JACK W. BLASINGAME
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, 741
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to
be assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination. This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals. This remand is in the nature of a
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the
Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b)
(1995).
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